The number of people without permanent accommodation in the region dropped slightly in November, but has jumped to a new high in December.
There's a record number of homeless people in the midlands.
130 people were without permanent accommodation in the region in December, the highest number on record, and an increase of seven on last November's figures.
55 of those are in Westmeath, the highest among the three counties.
That's followed by 48 in Offaly, and 27 in Laois.
Nationally, 11,632 people accessed emergency accommodation, also the highest figure recorded.
The Department of Housing figures for December show 3,442 children were homeless.
Roughan McNamara from Focus Ireland says it’s depressing that homelessness is becoming normalised here:
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